Rachel Woolford has been named the winner of season 18 of The Apprentice.
On Thursday night, it was revealed that the fitness entrepreneur, 28, from Leeds had become the fifth consecutive candidate to win Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment after beating cake shop owner Phil Turner, 37 years old.
In the final task, Rachel and Phil went head to head to prove to Lord Sugar why they deserved to receive his quarter of a million pound investment and form a 50/50 partnership with the TV star and business magnate.
With the help of assistants Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell MBE, Lord Sugar chose Rachel to win the investment, saying: “It’s very, very difficult for me… My intuition tells me that, Rachel, you are going to be my partner.” commercial.
After finding out about her win, Rachel said: “Taking part in the process has been incredible and coming out the winner is something beyond my wildest dreams.”
Rachel Woolford has been named the winner of season 18 of The Apprentice
On Thursday night, it was revealed that the fitness entrepreneur, 28, from Leeds, had become the fifth consecutive candidate to win Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment after beating cake shop owner, Phil Turner, 37 years old.
In the final task, Rachel and Phil went head to head to prove to Lord Sugar why they deserved to receive his quarter of a million pound investment and form a 50/50 partnership with the TV star and business magnate.
In Thursday night’s finale, candidates who were axed earlier in the series returned to help the two finalists make their business plans a reality before they gave the biggest presentation of their lives to Lord Sugar and the experts at the industry.
In the final boardroom, Baroness Karren and Tim gave their opinions on the performance of the finalists before Lord Sugar made his decision.
About Rachel, Baroness Brady said: ‘This business is her life and her passion for it really shows. The problem really is how expensive it is to open gyms, and it will eat up your investment pretty quickly.
Tim added: “I think the thing about Rachel is that she’s entering a great industry sector and she’s a huge advocate for her product and service…
‘It’s about the scalability of it. Can you systematize what you have done very well in two gyms and in many, many more?
Speaking about Phil, Tim said, “I think what’s important for his business is that you’ve given him clear direction of what it takes to grow this business. Will he accept that direction and implement what you think he needs?” grow?’
Baroness Brady added: “It is clear that he has a good business and his product is excellent.” But he has to adopt new ways of doing things and you will have to be convinced that he will follow your advice and make those difficult decisions…
‘Because sometimes you have to make difficult decisions in business. This is how you survive.
After expressing her joy, an emotional Rachel said: “Taking part in the process has been incredible and to win is something beyond my wildest dreams.” I was twenty-four years old when I started North Studio’
About Rachel, Baroness Brady said: ‘This business is her life and her passion for it really shows. The problem really is how expensive it is to open gyms and it will eat up your investment pretty quickly.
After a final impassioned speech from each finalist about why they should become his partners, Lord Sugar made his decision saying: ‘Let me conclude here…
“I have to say that this is a very difficult decision because I have two very, very credible people in front of me. I have Rachel, who claims that she is making money and that she will make even more when she starts the second gym, but the gyms, With all due respect, they cost two cents…
‘Specialized cakes are not and it is a market that interests me a lot but how can I be interested if there is no light at the end of the tunnel…
“Right now there is a loss-making business and you tell me it’s going to get better and that’s my dilemma.”
‘It’s very, very difficult for me. I’m having problems here. But my gut tells me, Rachel, you’re going to be my business partner.
After expressing her joy, an emotional Rachel said: “Taking part in the process has been incredible and to win is something beyond my wildest dreams.” I was twenty-four years old when I started North Studio…
With the help of assistants Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell MBE, Lord Sugar chose Rachel to win the investment, saying: “It’s very, very difficult for me… My intuition tells me that, Rachel, you are going to be my partner.” commercial.
“I was just a girl from Leeds and now I can’t believe it, I’m going into business with Lord Sugar and he’s investing in me.”
Following her win, Rachel revealed what she hopes to achieve, including opening a third and fourth space at her North Studio gym and finally making it down the aisle, after getting engaged to her long-term boyfriend in December last year.
She is also aiming to recruit Alison Hammond as her first celebrity client after meeting the This Morning presenter a week before being crowned the Apprentice winner.
Rachel successfully convinced Lord Sugar that she and her boutique business were a worthy investment even though last year’s winner, boxer Marnie Swindells, also owned a gym.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: “It’s an honor to have been chosen by Lord Sugar and for him to invest in my business, which is ultimately my baby and something I’ve been working on for almost five years.”
Becoming the show’s champion marks the end of a four-year grind for Rachel, who says that after setting up her business at age 23, she has had to deal with long hours at work.
‘For him to see something in me and think that he can invest in my business is an incredible and overwhelming feeling.
‘I’m looking forward to working with Lord Sugar for several reasons. He is investing a lot of money in me to allow my business to grow and open a third site and potentially a fourth.
“We don’t have many big celebrities in Leeds and Harrogate, but I’d love Alison Hammond to come, she’s hysterical…
‘I met her last week when I went on This Morning and she’s great and funny. I know Lord Sugar rides a bike too… I’d love to get him on a spin bike.’
As the fifth consecutive winner of the BBC series, Rachel hopes to inspire a younger generation of women to go into business and not be put off by their gender, especially when working in a male-dominated environment such as the fitness sector.
Rachel beat rival Phil to win The Apprentice this year after pitching her business to industry professionals such as luxury gyms F45 and Barry’s Bootcamp.
Rachel says Alison would be her dream celebrity because of her “hysterical” sense of humor after meeting the This Morning presenter on the show last week.